The number of inhabitants in cities is growing rapidly. A healthy living environment is very important for healthy urbanization and air quality is key factor in that. ENS Clean Air offers various solutions improve the air in urban areas.
Our technology can be strategically integrated into the city’s existing infrastructure such as in parking garages, public transport stations or other public places in the city. From strategy development to operational implementation, we provide full support and state-of-the-art knowledge for clean air city planning.
ENS Clean Air developed the Lungs of the City approach to improve the air quality and quality of life in cities. In this approach, urban infrastructural facilities and buildings such as parking garages, traffic tunnels, public transport stations and street furniture serve as air-purifying Lungs in the City, with the aim of reducing particulate matter concentrations at locations where high concentrations coincide with a high degree of public exposure; the so-called hotspots.
The approach was tested in practice with Eindhoven university of Technology, where the center of Eindhoven served as a ‘Living Lab’ for long-term research into large-scale implementation of air purification technology in the public environment. It appeared that Lungs of the City approach is a cost-effective and meaningful addition to air quality improvement policies and, if implemented smartly, locally brings significant relief in exposure to particulate matter.
Our expertise is based on years of (academic) research, in particular in air flows and fine dust. With this expertise and experience we can help municipalities executing air quality policy and provide novel insight in clean air city planning.
In a city, many sources of air pollution are present, such as traffic, domestic heating, and industry, but much of the pollution originates from outside the city. Exposure to poor air quality has a negative influence on the health of city residents, particularly for vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and people with underlying conditions. Besides the negative health effects, air pollution also causes considerable economic damage (e.g. sick leave).
The three major pollutants in the ambient air that affect the population’s health are particulate matter (fine dust), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and ozone (O3). PM has the largest impact on public health; approximately six times as much as NOx. Over 90% of the world’s population lives in regions where the WHO guidelines values for PM exceeded on a regular basis.